Archive for November 2014

INSPIRATION – A football player has to be inspired. There must be a challenge, a goal, a person or something that pulls or drives him along. Without this powerful inner motivation, he will always remain a mediocre ball player.

CONFIDENCE – The great athletes have confidence in themselves, a will or positive attitude which says, “I know I can do it!” The only way to really build confidence is through summer conditioning, practice on skills, then when the season begins, practice, practice, and more practice. It doesn’t come any other way.

COMPETITION – A good football player welcomes competition. Most people do not compete enough – they give up too easily. They never press on. If a player is to play to his true potential, he must be willing to put out just a little more.

INTELLIGENCE – All football today requires a considerable amount of intelligence – smartness. The ability to learn plays well and then apply this knowledge to the proper situation. A player must study hard, not only football knowledge but in the school classroom as well. An athlete must keep up his grades. He should remember his primary interest is education and football is secondary.

LOYALTY – Loyalty is essential to a winning football team. The TeamPlayer never says anything bad about his teammates or his coaches behind their backs. The TEAM PLAYER never second guesses the QBack, a teammate or a Coach.

PRIDE – The great athletes have a tremendous desire to excel, the urge to be the best. They take pride in everything they do – in and out of school – in practice – in the game. They take great pride in their play. They hurt when they lose. Too many athletes are satisfied with fair or good performances, when they could do better with more effort.

An athlete should always be striving for perfection. He must never be content with mediocrity. When a coach has players who have real pride in being champions, his team will always be tough to beat. They will never fold.

We want players to think in terms of winning championships. We want players who have a burning desire to be GCL Champs – to be #1 – to be the greatest ever Roger Bacon Football team.

For a .pdf file of this original Coach Bacevich Handout, click here: Handout #210: The Will to Win — Victory (Part 2). Coach Bacevich gave binders of his motivational handouts to thousands of people. You should print this original Coach Bacevich Handout together with the others in each weekly post and start your binder of these motivational handouts. Then read and browse the material as you desire. Soon you will have a treasure of information at your fingertips whenever you need a little inspiration and motivation from the Coach as you pursue your aspirations!

Many of Coach Bacevich’s Handouts were written for his football players as the audience. This is an example of good information written for his football players but so very applicable in all of life, sports and otherwise. When you see the phrase “football player” or “athlete”, substitute that phrase with whatever fits your situation, such as Employee, Team Member, Hockey Player, Basketball Player, etc.

MentalAttitude and TeamMorale are 90% of football. This game is 90% mental and 10% physical. Football is a group of emotions, a vigorous, highly competitive contact sport involving desire, discipline, and drive. It is the popping sound of pad against pad. The tenseness and nervousness of the pre-game wait in the locker room is followed by the thrill of charging out onto the field.

Victory is often highlighted by the beauty of an electrifying broken field run or the precision of a long pass. Defeat is marked by the frustration of missing the winning extra point or dropping a touchdown pass.

PROPER MENTAL ATTUDE – Mental attitude plays a tremendous role in the success of a football player. An athlete can have great natural ability but will never reach his potential unless he can develop a proper frame of mind.

MORALE – After the players learn the fundamentals and plays, it is morale that makes the team. To win a football game, there must be a strong mental togetherness on the part of every player. Each player must have the same purpose and goal, and it is this kind of group feeling or team spirit that wins games. Morale is a mental condition and attitude – it is characterized by a never failing ability to “come back.”

SELF-DISCIPLINE – If he wants to win and play his best, a football player must discipline his life – lay off smoking, drinking, over-eating or anything that keeps him from being his best. Football demands stern discipline. Each player must do the things he feels are the very best for his team.

HEART – It takes a lot of heart to continue playing football in the face of defeat. The real mark of a champion lies in his ability to come back – to come from behind. If a players makes an error, he should hold his head high and not get down on himself. When the breaks are going against him, he must always maintain his poise. He must stayintheir and nevergiveup.

COURAGE – Football demands courage. A player must possess the courage to throw his body around with reckless abandon on the field of play. Every football team needs a team leader who can go up to his teammates and say: We can beat them.” This is the kind of will power that can make champions, a will to conquer and to go to the top. There has never been a great athlete who quit when he was beaten.

For a .pdf file of this original Coach Bacevich Handout, click here: Handout #209: The Will to Win —Victory. Coach Bacevich gave binders of his motivational handouts to thousands of people. You should print this original Coach Bacevich Handout together with the others in each weekly post and start your binder of these motivational handouts. Then read and browse the material as you desire. Soon you will have a treasure of information at your fingertips whenever you need a little inspiration and motivation from the Coach as you pursue your aspirations!

Many of Coach Bacevich’s Handouts were written for his football players as the audience. This is an example of good information written for his football players but so very applicable in all of life, sports and otherwise. When you see the phrase “football player” or “athlete”, substitute that phrase with whatever fits your situation, such as Employee, Team Member, Hockey Player, Basketball Player, etc.

For a .pdf file of this original Coach Bacevich Handout, click here: Handout #208: How Good a Football Player Do You Want to Be?. Coach Bacevich gave binders of his motivational handouts to thousands of people. You should print this original Coach Bacevich Handout together with the others in each weekly post and start your binder of these motivational handouts. Then read and browse the material as you desire. Soon you will have a treasure of information at your fingertips whenever you need a little inspiration and motivation from the Coach as you pursue your aspirations!

Many of Coach Bacevich’s Handouts were written for his football players as the audience. This is an example of good information written for his football players but so very applicable in all of life, sports and otherwise. When you see the phrase “football player” or “athlete”, substitute that phrase with whatever fits your situation, such as Employee, Team Member, Hockey Player, Basketball Player, etc.

We have a self-image of ourselves as a person and we have a self-image of ourselves as an athlete.

Your self-image is the key to your attitudes, physical behaviors, and performance level of consistency.

You will act and perform as the sort of athlete you picture yourself to be.

A. Picture yourself to be: 1. A Winner; 2. See it as a real possibility. When I say “see it”, “I mean see it, feel it, think it, experience it.”

Self-Imagecanbechanged – improved.

1. Be honest with yourself.

2. Recognize and identify some imperfections while at the same time be able to take pride in your accomplishments.

3. Your self-image must be a reasonable approximation of your being: neither more than you are, nor less than you are.

4. Don’t rationalize your shortcomings.

5. Don’t find blame for your poor performance.

6. You should be patient with yourself and have a great deal of honesty in your desire to accomplish your goals.

This awareness allows for the recognition that we have more ability and talent than we give ourselves credit.

Awareness enables us to use wisely our powers of choice, develop realistic goals, and set priorities towards success.

B. MentalRehearsal

1. We need to learn to function successfully by experiencing success.

2. Past successful acts are built-in stored information which gives us self-confidence for the tasks at hand.

3. The human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience imagined vividly and in detail.

4. Program yourself for success mentally.

5. Visualize yourself very successful, masterful, and very much in control.

6. When you mentally rehearse, see yourself at your best. See and feel the movement and action. Allow your performance to be effortless and flawless. Enjoy the feeling of your performance.

7. Let it happen and do it in your mind. Best your opponent mentally and then go out and beat him physically on the athletic field. When it comes time to execute, you don’t have to think or plan, you just let it happen. Youdoit. You have control of yourself.

* United States Military Academy for Athletes

In the athlete’s mind he conceives his plan and joined with his body, he achieves his goal.

For a .pdf file of this original Coach Bacevich Handout, click here: Handout #207: Athletic Self-Image. Coach Bacevich gave binders of his motivational handouts to thousands of people. You should print this original Coach Bacevich Handout together with the others in each weekly post and start your binder of these motivational handouts. Then read and browse the material as you desire. Soon you will have a treasure of information at your fingertips whenever you need a little inspiration and motivation from the Coach as you pursue your aspirations!

Many of Coach Bacevich’s Handouts were written for his football players as the audience. This is an example of good information written for his football players but so very applicable in all of life, sports and otherwise. When you see the phrase “football player” or “athlete”, substitute that phrase with whatever fits your situation, such as Employee, Team Member, Hockey Player, Basketball Player, etc.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit – rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns. As everyone of us sometimes learns. And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out. Don’t give up though the pace seems slow – you may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man; often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor’s cup; and he learned too late when the night came down, how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out – the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and when you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar; so stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit – it’s when things seem worst, you mustn’t quit.

– – – Anonymous

As each football season approaches – there are those who have the courage and burning desire to want to improve and there are those who – lacking in these qualities, find themselves in a situation where they must choose between carrying on or quitting. The real lesson to be learned from a tough contact sport like football is to STICK WHEN THE GOING IS TOUGHEST.

How are you measuring up in preparation for the next football season? Will it be your best ever season? Are you doing the extra things that distinguish the champion?

Have you had your personal talk with the Coach? Have you had your physical measurements taken? Have you established your personal and team goals?

How are you measuring up with those with whom you will be competing against next fall? Toughness? Size? Agility? Quickness? Speed? Strength? Attitude? Desire? In and Out of School Conduct?

Great teams are the result of great young men. We need dedicated, enthusiastic, hard-working young men who are willing to pay the price in extra effort. SUCH YOUNG MEN ARE THE REAL THRILL OF COACHING.

For a .pdf file of this original Coach Bacevich Handout, click here: Handout #206: Don’t Quit. Coach Bacevich gave binders of his motivational handouts to thousands of people. You should print this original Coach Bacevich Handout together with the others in each weekly post and start your binder of these motivational handouts. Then read and browse the material as you desire. Soon you will have a treasure of information at your fingertips whenever you need a little inspiration and motivation from the Coach as you pursue your aspirations!

Many of Coach Bacevich’s Handouts were written for his football players as the audience. This is an example of good information written for his football players but so very applicable in all of life, sports and otherwise. When you see the phrase “football player” or “athlete”, substitute that phrase with whatever fits your situation, such as Employee, Team Member, Hockey Player, Basketball Player, etc.